New Brain Stimulation Treatment and Research Unit

CAMH is very pleased to announce the initiation of a new Brain Stimulation Treatment and Research Unit of the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program, headed by Dr. Zafiris J. (Jeff) Daskalakis.

CAMH is a pioneer in the promising area of brain stimulation technologies, and is committed to exploring the benefits that these and other emerging therapies offer our patients with severe and medication-resistant mental disorders.

Dr. Zafiris J. (Jeff) Daskalakis will head the new Brain Stimulation and Research Unit at CAMH.

The new service will initially encompass the Electroconvulsive Therapy and the Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation services. It will have a clinical service component as well as a strong research and training component, conducting studies using brain stimulation methods to explore the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of psychiatric disorders. It is anticipated that the new unit will evaluate and develop other novel brain stimulation treatments for severe and refractory mood and anxiety disorders, schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. Its creation will advance CAMH’s strategic goals of providing specialized clinical services, maximizing the reach and impact of research, and expanding support for best clinical practice and professional education.

Dr. Daskalakis, MD, PhD, FRCPC is currently Associate Professor of Psychiatry at University of Toronto and he directs the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulator laboratory at CAMH. He first began working on TMS as a student at the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry back in the 1990s. As an expert on the neurophysiology of severe psychiatric disorders, his research laboratory uses magnetic brain stimulation to study the role of cortical inhibition and plasticity as potential pathophysiological mechanisms in schizophrenia and depression. He conducts treatment studies using rTMS (Repetitive TMS) for refractory symptoms in these disorders.

A NARSAD Lieber Young Investigator, Dr. Daskalakis holds a CIHR Clinician Scientist award and an OMHF Research Award. He also has over 55 peer-reviewed publications, including in the Archives of General Psychiatry and the American Journal of Psychiatry, and his work has been recognized nationally and internationally. Dr. Daskalakis leads the rTMS treatment initiative for establishing new and more effective interventions in resistant psychiatric disorders. Recently, his laboratory has also embarked on treatment research using transcranial direct current stimulation for resistant depression.

Dr. Daskalakis is a sought-after teacher and an outstanding research mentor for graduate students, fellows, and residents in psychiatry, and is also the clinical research section head for the Schizophrenia Program.